Topic: Turkey

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6 factors that will determine concessions from Iran

Can war with Iran can be avoided? In recent talks with the West in Baghdad, Iran showed some greater flexibility about its nuclear program. But Iran has a history of trickery in the nuclear arena. Whether Tehran will cooperates with Western demands depends on the following six factors.
Where gas prices are highest

Gasoline is a very visible price, and closely watched by many drivers. Petroleum prices impact many products, from food to industrial production. While the cost of crude is the major factor in gasoline price volatility, some countries levy taxes on fossil fuels. Here are ten countries where high gas prices are the norm, according to British insurance firm Staveley Head.
College rankings: Which countries have the best education systems?

A new higher education ranking focuses on evaluating quality by countries as a whole, rather than specific academic institutions. Here are some of the findings:
Top 5 ways to save on your summer vacation

If you're pining for a summer vacation but worried about costs, consider how Wayne and Pat Dunlap of Del Mar, Calif., managed to tour 51 countries over two years, marvel at the Egyptian pyramids, scale a New Zealand glacier, and visit Laotian Buddhist monks all for less than $100 a day. "We often stayed at guesthouses and hostels, ate at local family restaurants, took public transportation, and in some cases, traveled on cruise ships offering reduced rates," says Mr. Dunlap, author of the travel book "Plan Your Escape." This year amid price worries and higher summer airfares, especially to Europe such ingenuity could prove essential. Here are five cost-cutting strategies that can help:
US tax time: A later deadline and other tax facts

Thanks to a holiday in Washington, D.C., the federal tax-filing deadline this year is April 17, two days later than usual. The extra time provides an opportunity to peruse some random tax-related facts.

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Syrian doctors turn to smuggling supplies as war rages on

Doctors, activists, and aid groups like Doctors Without Borders are teaming up with smugglers in Jordan to supply field hospitals for the injured in Syria's war.
Stefan Karlsson
Europe can strengthen Greece without weakening Germany

Some experts warn that Greece can't reduce its current deficit unless Germany and other better-off nations reduce their surpluses. Here's why they're wrong.
6 factors that will determine concessions from Iran

Can war with Iran can be avoided? In recent talks with the West in Baghdad, Iran showed some greater flexibility about its nuclear program. But Iran has a history of trickery in the nuclear arena. Whether Tehran will cooperates with Western demands depends on the following six factors.
Where gas prices are highest

Gasoline is a very visible price, and closely watched by many drivers. Petroleum prices impact many products, from food to industrial production. While the cost of crude is the major factor in gasoline price volatility, some countries levy taxes on fossil fuels. Here are ten countries where high gas prices are the norm, according to British insurance firm Staveley Head.
On the Eve

The focus in this book about the approach of the Holocaust is not Adolf Hitler and the Nazis but the European Jews themselves.
Iran talks in Baghdad: Western naiveté

As world powers head into nuclear talks with Iran in Baghdad on Wednesday, is Obama so naive as to hang on to a fake fatwa promising no nukes? With enough enriched uranium to eventually make six nuclear bombs, Tehran is simply stalling for time. Recent chronology bears this out.
Questions about Turkey as a democracy and military model

When NATO meets in Chicago this weekend, intervention in Syria is sure to be discussed – perhaps by Syria's neighbor, Turkey, which presents itself as a democratic model for the Middle East with a strong military. But questionable investigations of its military undermine those claims.
Greek parliament sworn in and dissolved as caretakers take over

The parliament couldn't form a government; a 16-member caretaker cabinet will guide the country to new elections next month.
At Chicago summit, NATO must take stock of its big shoulders

The NATO summit in Chicago can overcome the alliance's current woes about Afghanistan and defense cuts by remembering how unique NATO is in history as a club of democracies with shared principles and interests.
German universities move to train next generation of imams

Concerned about the influence of foreign imams on Germany's Muslim community, the government is funding Islamic theology departments in its public universities to train imams at home.
Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence opens in Istanbul

Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence, based on his 2008 novel, houses thousands of objects that evoke the atmosphere of 1970s Turkey and enshrine ordinary life.
College rankings: Which countries have the best education systems?

A new higher education ranking focuses on evaluating quality by countries as a whole, rather than specific academic institutions. Here are some of the findings:
Economist Mom
How to make the Bush tax cuts work

The expiring Bush tax cuts would be worth more than $2.8 trillion over 10 years Instead of complaining about the size of the cuts and not doing anything constructive about it, policymakers ought to commit to using that size in a positive way.
With Iran, Syria looming, can Obama save NATO from disaster at Chicago summit?

The 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon produced a bold vision for NATO’s future. With one week to the Chicago summit, not nearly enough progress has been made. To avoid the Chicago summit ending up as a total bust, Obama must push NATO leaders to address three key issues.
Heed Balkan lessons for a fragmenting Syria and revise Kofi Annan plan

Kofi Annan's peace plan is failing to stop violence and ensure a political dialogue in Syria. To avoid a Balkans-like tragedy, an updated plan must include negotiations between Bashar al-Assad's regime and the opposition and deploy armed UN peacekeepers.
Top 5 ways to save on your summer vacation

If you're pining for a summer vacation but worried about costs, consider how Wayne and Pat Dunlap of Del Mar, Calif., managed to tour 51 countries over two years, marvel at the Egyptian pyramids, scale a New Zealand glacier, and visit Laotian Buddhist monks all for less than $100 a day. "We often stayed at guesthouses and hostels, ate at local family restaurants, took public transportation, and in some cases, traveled on cruise ships offering reduced rates," says Mr. Dunlap, author of the travel book "Plan Your Escape." This year amid price worries and higher summer airfares, especially to Europe such ingenuity could prove essential. Here are five cost-cutting strategies that can help:
Hillary Clinton to drill India on Iranian oil

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on a three-day visit to India. At the top of the agenda is the country's imports of Iranian oil despite US sanctions.
Iraq's unity tested by rising tensions over oil-rich Kurdish region

As Iraqi Kurdistan ramps up oil production that could soon surpass Libya's output, Kurdish leaders have warned they may seek independence if disputes over oil revenues, power-sharing aren't resolved.
Arab Spring: now begins the education of Islamist politicians

In Tunisia and Egypt, Islamists are being elected into office to take on the daunting policy problems of their neglected societies. But Islamists, too, will be chucked out of office if they can’t deliver the goods. And they know it.
Syrian uprising shifts toward suicide bombings. Al Qaeda's handiwork? (+video)

Today's suicide bombings in Syria's Idlib province come just three days after a suicide bombing in Damascus claimed by a salafi jihadist organization.
Global News Blog
Growing like gangbusters, Turkey says Western economies need 'serious reforms'

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan warned Friday that the US and Europe were not doing enough to resolve the core causes of the global economic slowdown.
The case for military intervention in Syria

Former US ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker argues that the West should not wait for a single mass atrocity before it intervenes in Syria, as it did in Bosnia. What is the magic number of deaths that will prompt the international community to act? We've already passed 9,000.
One dead, three wounded in separate Damascus attacks Tuesday

A car bomb wounded three early Tuesday near the Old City part of the Syrian capital. Meanwhile, a Syrian agent was found dead in another Damascus neighborhood.
Arizona immigration law: Mexico gets involved in US Supreme Court case

The Arizona immigration law threatens Mexico-US relations, says a brief submitted on behalf of Mexico and 16 other countries ahead of Wednesday’s oral argument at the Supreme Court.
Assad's actions in Syria spur US to consider intervening

The ongoing violence in Syria, despite the regime's lip service to the Annan peace plan, has pushed the Obama administration to weigh stronger steps.